Tricks - Softcover

Hopkins, Ellen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1416950087 ISBN 13: 9781416950080

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011

Synopsis

“When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival.”

Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching . . . for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don’t expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words, “I love you,” are said for all the wrong reasons. These are five moving stories that remain separate at first, then weave together to tell a larger, more powerful story–a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. And figuring out what sex and love are all about.

TRICKS is informed and inspired by living near Las Vegas–a big teen prostitution scene–and by the fact that teen prostitution is not exclusively the result of kids running away from abuse. Kids from “better” families are selling themselves for hefty sums in order to finance addictions or even just to buy jewelry or clothing. In some cases, parents prostitute their children for the same reason. So what happens to the kids who are asking themselves, and asking us, “Can I ever feel OK about myself?”

Highly charged, TRICKS is a gripping experience that turns you on and repels you at the same time.

About this title

About the Author

Ellen Hopkins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fourteen young adult novels, as well as the adult novels Triangles, Collateral, and Love Lies Beneath. She lives with her family in Carson City, Nevada, where she has founded Ventana Sierra, a nonprofit youth housing and resource initiative. Visit her at EllenHopkins.com and on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter at @EllenHopkinsLit.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Tricks Not Wrong for Me

No, not at all. Andrew is pretty much

perfect. Not gorgeous, not in a male

model kind of way, but he is really cute,

with crazy hair that sometimes hides

his eyes, dark chocolate eyes that hold

laughter, even when he’s deadly serious.

He’s not a hunk, but toned, and tall enough

to effortlessly tuck me under his arms,

arms that are gentle but strong from honest

ranch work, arms that make me feel

safe when they gather me in. It’s the only

time I really feel wanted, and the absolute

best part of any day is when I manage

to steal cherished time with Andrew.

No, he’s not even a little wrong for me

except maybe—maybe!—in the eyes

of God. But much, much worse than that,

he’s completely wrong for my parents.

About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1416950087
• ISBN 13: 9781416950080
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 656